


Stealth Mission

by CirrusGrey



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 19:31:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14119341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CirrusGrey/pseuds/CirrusGrey
Summary: "Hi, I'm a super-assassin that was sent here to steal classified documents from you and leave without a trace, but I heard you having a nightmare so I woke you up to see if you were okay."Yeah. That would totally work.





	Stealth Mission

There was a soft click as the lock on the door gave way, and he slipped into the apartment, careful not to make any noise. He would have much preferred to simply kick the door down - that was his usual style, after all - but this mission called for stealth.

The place was dark, and he couldn't risk turning on any lights, so he was careful as he walked through the rooms. No need to accidentally kick something noisy and wake the occupant - according to his mission briefing, this man was more dangerous than anyone he had faced before.

The filing cabinet was easy to find and unlocked - that was the thing with the dangerous ones, they always expected people to attack them head-on, never thought anyone would sneak around behind their backs. There was a large metal disk leaning against the cabinet, painted with a star. Weird. It felt familiar, but he was sure he'd never seen it before. Oh well. He moved it carefully to the side before opening the drawer.

His metal hand glinted in the faint light as he paged through the files, looking for the ones with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem. It was very important that he find them. It would help... He didn't know what it would help. He'd been told it was important, though.

They were easy enough to find, and it was simple to cover his tracks. Close the cabinet, put the metal disk - _shield_ , something in his mind whispered, but not loud enough to be heard - back where it had been, and lock the door on the way out. With luck, the occupant would never know he'd been robbed, or at least not until it was too late to stop... whatever it was these files were starting.

He was halfway to the door when he heard the voice.

~~~~~~~

"No..."

It was a soft murmur from a room down the hall. Clearly just someone talking in their sleep. So why had it stopped him in his tracks?

"Please..."

He was moving down the hall. Why was he moving down the hall? What was it about this voice that made him want to be closer to the man who owned it?

"Hold on!"

This was an exclamation, though still quiet. It sounded... heartbroken. Panicked. Could you be both at once?

"Grab my hand!"

He was at the doorway, with his hand on the knob, before he realized what he was doing and stopped. He had an urge to go in and comfort the speaker, and where the hell was that coming from? And how that hell was it supposed to work?

_Hi, I'm a super-assassin that was sent here to steal classified documents from you and leave without a trace, but I heard you having a nightmare so I woke you up to see if you were okay._

Yeah. That would totally work.

The man was speaking again, sounding even more panicked and desperate than before.

"Bucky!"

And who the hell was Bucky?

And then a new noise started.

No. Not new. Old.

Very old, and very familiar. The choked, gasping breaths of an asthma attack.

Of Steve having an asthma attack.

Steve.

Bucky.

 _Me_...

Steve!

Bucky kicked the door open, the file falling from his hand as he strode across the room. Steve was gasping on the bed - not having an asthma attack, thank god, but crying in his sleep. Bucky hopped onto the bed and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him awake.

"Steve! Steve!"

The other man gasped and sat up. Bucky moved one hand from his shoulder to his chest, feeling the racing pulse and shortened breaths, and the habits of a lifetime took over.

"Breathe, Stevie. Breathe. With me. In...."

Steve took a gasping breath, shoulders hitching. His eyes were wide, locked on Bucky's.

"Out..."

After a few moments of this Steve's breath had evened out. His eyes stayed fixed on Bucky's face.

"Bucky..."

Bucky smiled. "I'm here."

"You're dead."

Steve's voice was matter of fact, as if he was just talking about the weather, but his expression was filled with a lifetime of sadness.

"Not dead. Captured. By Hydra. Brainwashed. Periodically frozen, so I didn't age. I only remembered myself when I heard you."

Steve blinked, unfocused with sleep.

"I'm dreaming."

"Steve - "

The blond man leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Bucky.

"But it's a good dream."

Bucky froze for a moment before freeing his own arms to return the hug.

"Steve - " It was too late. The man in his arms had already gone limp, snoring gently in a peaceful sleep.

Bucky held him upright for a moment before leaning back against the headboard, letting his own body relax and trying to process what had just happened. He was himself again, just like that. All it had taken was the proper trigger.

The room was quiet, and Steve was heavy in his arms. How long had it been since he had actually slept? He was pretty sure cryogenic comas didn't count. He closed his own eyes and listened to Steve breathe, letting himself feel how peaceful the room was.

Safe.

They were both safe.

Bucky fell asleep.

~~~~~~~

Steve woke. He felt... hollow. There were dried tears on his face. How many times had he woken up like this, shaken from dreams of the past by the harsh reality that everyone he had ever known was dead? Too many.

His alarm hadn't gone off yet, so it was still early. He could close his eyes and live in dreams for awhile longer. He turned his head, burying his face into the shoulder it was resting on. His arms tightened instinctively around the body they held. 

....Body?

Shoulder.

He pulled his arms free and sat up in one swift motion, planting a hand on the chest of the man next to him - both for balance and to stop him from moving. The man had startled awake at his movement and was staring at him with wide, uncertain eyes, and Steve froze.

" _Bucky?_ "

"Steve."

Bucky was here.

It hadn't been a dream.

He shifted his stance, using both hands to grab Bucky by the jacket and yank him up into a crushing hug.

"You're real." His voice was weak and breathy.

Bucky gave a surprised laugh.

"That's the first thing you can think of to say?"

"It's all that matters."

Bucky returned the hug, and Steve frowned. Something in the grip was different than it had been, so long before.

"You're arm?"

"Prosthetic. It works fine. Lost the real one in the fall."

"Hydra." It was a realization and a promise - both _they're back_ and _I will hunt them down for_ _this._

"We'll get them. Don't worry, we'll stop them."

Bucky was telling him not to worry. Bucky, who had just come back from the dead and apparently seventy years of brainwashing, was telling _him_ not to worry. It was so typical. Steve felt tears rising and tightened his hold on Bucky.

"I love you."

Bucky turned his head to press a soft kiss to the nape of Steve's neck.

"I love you too."

There were still questions that needed to be answered, explanations that needed to be given. But for now, Steve was content to stay like this, in the quiet of his own room, holding onto the man he loved and ignoring the rest of the world.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I have no experience with asthma, but I've read that trying to calm down a person who is having an attack can lessen the severity of it. I figure Bucky has had to do this before if pre-serum Steve got caught without medicine, so that's where that bit came from. 
> 
> 2\. I'm pretty new to the Stucky fandom (and Marvel in general) so I don't have much experience with these characters. Sorry if they're a little OOC!


End file.
